FOOD AND CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGY

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the cardio-protective potential of apricot-feeding in the ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) model of rats in vivo. Rats were divided into three groups of 12 rats each. Group 1 was fed with a standard rat chow, groups 2 and 3 were fed with a standard rat chow supplemented with 10% or 20% dried apricot during 3 months before the beginning of I/R studies. To produce I/R, the left main coronary artery was occluded for 30 min, followed by 120 min reperfusion, in anesthetized rats. Infarct sizes were found significantly decreased in 10% (55.0 +/- 4.3%) and 20% (57.0 +/- 2.9%) apricot-fed groups compared to control group (68.7 +/- 2.0%). Light and electron microscopic evaluations of hearts also demonstrated similar beneficial effects on I/R injury in apricot-fed both groups. Total phenolic contents, DPPH radical scavenging and ferric-reducing power as in vitro antioxidant capacities of rat chows were significantly increased after supplementation with apricot for each ratio. Cu, Zn Superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were increased, and lipid peroxidation was decreased significantly in the hearts of 20% apricot-fed group after I/R. In conclusion, we clearly demonstrated in vivo cardio-protective activity of apricot-feeding related to its antioxidant phenolic contents in rats subjected to myocardial I/R. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved